Dual channel 1Gb or combination with 1,5Gb?

[Radian]

Hi,

I currently run 2x256Mb (PC3200) sticks for a total of 512Mb.
This is creating quite a problem when playing UT2004, HL2 etc.
My budget is limited and I`m wondering what the best choice would be out of these 2:

1. Add a 1Gb stick for a total of 1,5Gb ram. This would render the dual-channel feature useless?
2. Get rid of the 2x256 sticks and install 2x512Mb sticks instead. This would give me less ram, but it would keep the dual-channel feature.

So would I be better off with more Ram but no dual channel, or less Ram with dual channel?

Thanks!

Okke

 

[dougie_boy]

1. Add a 1Gb stick for a total of 1,5Gb ram. This would render the dual-channel feature useless?
2. Get rid of the 2x256 sticks and install 2x512Mb sticks instead. This would give me less ram, but it would keep the dual-channel feature.

your right. 1.5 gig would dissable the dual channel mode. the 2 512 sticks would be the best option for what your doing.

 

[nottheking]

Wouldn't the pair of modules perhaps even be a little cheaper than the single module? And as implied, if you "ruin" the dual-channel setup, performance will take a bit of a hit... Perhaps more of one than having 1.5GB of RAM might offer over your current setup in some games, and certainly you'd be worse off than with a 1GB dual-channel setup.

 

[Pain]

What platform are you talking about here? It's possible you could use 3 sticks in dual channel on, say, the NF2 chipset, but then dual channel isn't particularly all that beneficial on the NF2 anyway.

So, what platform is it?

 

[Radian]

It`s indeed an NF2 mobo. I`m running an AMD Athlon 2500 OC'ed to a 3200 (at 200Mhz bus speed).

Link to the Mobo manufacturer page:

http://www.albatron.com.tw/english/it/mb/specification.asp?pro_id=69

Are you saying that since dual channel does not help out that much on an NForce 2 motherboard, that 1,5Gb would be the better choice?

thanks

 

[dougie_boy]

lol. ur board doesnt even support dual channel mode so u wont loose anything. get the 1 gig stick.

 

[Radian]

Nah it does! It shows on my bootup I`m running in dual channel.

So I suppose the question is: Does an NForce2 motherboard put enough strain on memory for dual channel to be useful?

Also snippet from the specs:

Memory

3 *DDR Sockets:
DDR400/DDR333/266/DDR200 NON-ECC DDR SDRAM up to 3GB ( Single Channel) , up to 2GB ( Dual Channel )

 

[Pain]

The benefit of dual channel mode on that computer will be mainly theoretical, so I wouldn't worry about it. Follow the manual for how to install the sticks to maintain dual channel mode with 3 sticks installed.